When Iowa Poll respondents opposed to Common Core standards were asked about their objections, some lamented the shift from traditional teaching methods such as rote memorization of facts and formulas to a focus on more critical thinking.

Because we’ve learned nothing about teaching math in 50 years

Civil engineer Jack Burnham Jr., a 40-year-old independent voter, also has a “very negative” view. “I’ve got a math primer from the 1960s,” he said. “That math worked just fine.”

Shifting the public’s conceptions about learning and teaching is an ongoing, uphill battle…

Without having seen the exact survey questions, here are some quick reactions I have to these data…

Why on earth would students say they feel valued at school? In most schools, students are told what to do nearly every minute of every school day, are generally treated as passive recipients of whatever adults foist on them, have their thoughts and opinions routinely and blatantly ignored or dismissed when it comes to day-to-day operations, and are punished whenever they deviate from organizational compliance structures. The number of schools in which students have significant input into things that actually matter is miniscule. But, hey, it’s all about the kids and we care.

An inner city high school. 95% of the student population receives free or reduced lunch. A dozen amazing students and an inspiring teacher. And a donor that promises to help them achieve a trip of a lifetime. But with just weeks to go (and after months of fundraising), the donor backs out…

What did you learn during your first twelve years of education that matters in your life today?

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The achievement gap asks, “Are students achieving X?” whereas the relevance gap asks, “Is X going to matter to the lives learners are likely to live?”

If X is good mastery of reading and writing, both questions earn a big yes! Skilled, fluent, and engaged reading and writing marks both a challenging gap and a high-payoff attainment. That knowledge goes somewhere! However, if X is quadratic equations, the answers don’t match. Mastering quadratic equations is challenging, but these equations are not so lifeworthy. Now fill in X with any of the thousands of topics that make up the typical content curriculum. Very often, these topics present significant challenges of achievement but with little return on investment in learners’ lives.

Here’s the problem: the achievement gap is much more concerned with mastering content than with providing lifeworthy content.

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The achievement gap is all about doing the same thing better. . . the relevance gap asks us to reconsider deeply what schools teach in the first place.

many of us cling to the certainties of the way we were educated ourselves as “the right way” to do so. Any deviation from the tried and trusted can elicit nervousness and uncertainty, especially – and unsurprisingly – from parents. Our faith in the tried and the trusted is a little bit like holding onto the handrails in the deep end of a swimming pool. When schools suggest that the depth of experience is more vital than just skimming the surface, we are looked at sceptically. The same does not happen with other professions, of which we seem to be far more trusting. I went to my dentist recently in a lot of pain. He suspected my problem was sinusitis and pointed out that he had just invested in a hi-tech system that used a high resonance 3D imaging model to offer a visual understanding of the nature of pain itself. Did I resist this innovation? Question the use of this new technology? Ask if he knew what he was doing? Suggest that this is not what my dentist would have done in 1976? No, of course not. This only happens in schools.

As part of my never-ending quest to help school administrators with the complex transitions and transformations that accompany digital learning tools and environments, I am unveiling a new resource today…

Digital Leadership Daily. One digital school leadership reading or resource per day, tweeted, texted to your phone, and posted to Facebook.

Since it’s just one thing per day, hopefully this will be a low-pain entry point for school leaders who want to learn and grow in this area. Thanks to Eric Sheninger for allowing me to riff off the title of his excellent book, Digital Leadership.

Please share with the school leaders in your area. I don’t think it can get any easier to learn than this… Thanks!